Qantas has received final authorisation from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) for its joint venture with Emirates.
The ACCC granted the airlines permission to move forward with their proposed partnership for an initial period of five years, enabling Qantas to combine its operations with Emirates. The approval now means that Qantas will re-route its European flights through Dubai, codesharing and coordinating schedules with Emirates to a series of destinations. The two carriers will also combine frequent flier programmes.
“Qantas is an Australian icon and the future of its international business is much brighter with this partnership,” said Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce. “Customers are already responding very strongly to the joint network that Qantas and Emirates have built, and to the frequent flyer benefits that extend across it, with a significant increase in bookings.”
Qantas and Emirates will offer a combined total of 98 flights a week between Australia and Dubai, with Qantas continuing to operate daily services from Melbourne and Sydney through to London.
Emirates’ President Tim Clark also welcomed the ACCC’s approval. “This is a truly game-changing partnership that brings together two of the world’s best airlines and offers some of the highest quality travel experiences,” Clark said. “Dubai is a leading global hub and through it, our two airlines will connect Australia to Europe, the UK and Northern Africa more smoothly than ever before.”
The new joint operations are already on sale and will commence on 31 March 2013. In terms of Qantas’ East Asian operations, the airline has already unveiled a series of service and schedule changes to Singapore and Hong Kong.
